Thursday, November 5, 2009

4...3.....2....1... BLAST OFF

Well, who would have thought the count down would be perfectly accurate. Our baby French Fry was born on October 22nd at 3:54 pm on his due date. Exactly 40 weeks old, weighing in at 8lbs 12 oz and measuring 21 3/4 inches long!! What a Big Boy!

As you know Francois' sister Caroline was here, and her days were numbered. She was due to fly out of the country back to her abode on Saturday October 24th ( 2 DAYS AFTER MY DUE DATE) the stress!!!

Most people know that first time moms do not deliver on or before the due date. Well, I think she planned it perfect... she shopped that baby right out of me.. I never knew the stamina it took to shop like Caroline Mazal, I thought my mom was bad. Caroline's shopping is to my running...

Well, as you also know, Caroline ( or as i like to call her, Mary Poppins) had been doing acupuncture on me to help baby Lucas arrive in the correct position, comfortably, and healthy. Her last session of acupuncture was on Tuesday, I believe. She prefaced the session with , " are you ready to have a baby tomorrow?" And all i could think was.... " ........"

( nothing, a space of fear and excitement crossed me, like never before).

Who actually can answer "yes" to a question like that. All I could think of was, " NOOO" but what came out of my mouth was " I think so" My body was torn between 2 worlds. A world I have known for 27 years and a world that is unknown to me. I know that I am ready for something... Motherhood... the unknown... not sure about that yet..

WELL, I digress. Long story short.. The session was a success for a healthy delivery, however it did not bring Lucas here sooner. Let me tell you of the day that Lucas arrived...

October 23rd:

All day I had felt a little excitement from baby French Fry. I felt him kicking!! and moving!! Usually he has his times during the day when he moves and sleeps. Not today. He had places to go and people to see. Caroline, Francois, and I went shopping a little, and then after... I went for a run. YES! a RUN. A holy run, one I will remember forever.

The run felt as if I had started at mile 18-26 in an ultramarathon. Hurting in places with unknown reason or origin... just hurting. But I like to categorize it as a HURTS SO GOOD FEELING. What i mean by that is... I know I am pushing my body and I like it... I had a tight belly and a determination unwilling for negotiation. I ran every step of this run.... feeling charged with emotions and mentally saying " I will have this baby today..." over and over. Not that I hated the pregnancy or wanted him out so bad that I would risk my life for it.. I just wanted his Godmother to be here for the event and I wanted to meet this little man.

As the run came to an end, I was slightly grieving the finish, yet fueling my engine for post baby season and all the runs that I will have in the future ( sick obsession... I know..) As I neared the house, not even breaking a sweat, yet feeling a little damp in " another place" ... oh let's just say it.. " I FELT LIKE I PEED ON MYSELF"

Was it Pee or was it my "bag of waters" ( I love that term... sounds gross and old). Well. I arrived home and told Caroline, " I peed on myself" she smiled and knew... his time was nearing.

I showered and the " fluid leak" had corked itself... and made me question... " did I pee on my stupid pregnant self... hmmmm" Well. Francois wanted to show Caroline the famous Crab Shack in Folly Beach for dinner.. 45 min away from home.. For all those not knowing... there is a crab shack probably 10 min away as well.. OH FRANCOIS!!

Caroline, Francois and I ordered.

I ordered Shrimp and Grits... for some odd reason.. I have never ordered this before!! and Caroline had Giant Crab Claws and Francois.. a ridiculous amount of fish and chips. Well.. Before I could get a hush puppy in my mouth... BAMMM. My eyes widen and ( I am thinking , I did it again). hurry to the bathroom, in what looks like a penguin gate.. and to my dismay.. a little fluid... not easy to discern ... at this point my bladder and baby are hanging out so much... that i could swallow spit and think that I downed a gallon of Ice Tea.

Back to the table I travel, Caroline keeping a watchful eye on her apprehensive sister-in-law. Probably prepping Francois, in between bathroom visits. When I arrive, The food has settled on the table, and I am wondering, why I ordered Shrimp and Grits again?? Oh, well. I go for my first bite, big eyes follow... OK, this time... It has to be Fluid... I cannot believe that I am incontinent. YEP.. go to the bathroom and it looks as if I have sat in a Puddle of water.

Caroline, at this point is cracking her crab claws and throwing them meat full into the trash bucket.... not focusing... only mentally prepping herself to FINALLY be an AUNT!!! The excitement.. She held her cool as did Francois... an unsettling cool for a pregnant lady... WHO JUST BROKE HER WATER ... HELLLO... why are we not running toward the fire exit.. waving flags... where is the wheelchair, ambulance... ( my mind settles... ) I finish my shrimp n' grits and CHECK PLEASE, I want to yell. Mentally noting this is my LAST MEAL.. not to be enjoyed or savored.. but cherished and remembered as the place where I did NOOOT PEE on myself :)

We traveled home, still no huge reaction from Francois or Caroline, which is a little unsettling to a hormone engorged pregnant lady.. Finally, I catch Francois by himself and say,

" you know that we are going to have a baby in less than 24 hours.. right... "

he reassures me, " I know" ..

" Just checking", I say... still wondering why no commotion.. We settle in at home. Caroline goes and checks to see if my water has broken, we decide that it is presumable so.. but lets wait to see if any more fluid is loss before we call. ( Usually in the United states we say that after your water breaks, the doctors usually likes to deliver within 24 hours.... mostly to decrease infection rates. ) HOWEVER, my idea of fun is not sitting in a hospital waiting for magic to happen, bed bound.

SOO, Caroline suggested a nap, great suggestion looking back, except I was too EXCITED TO NAP. That's OK, we put on the movie The Pelican Brief, and nap time set in.

After the movie, I called the doctor.. and yes they wanted me to come in and have me checked and we would see from there. We slowly prepared our things, left Cooper .. I made some phone calls... to the parents and Tracy... not to worry.. going into the hospital.. leave in the morning.. its going to be a LOOONG night.

Ok, so we arrive at the ER at 12:01 am October 22, Lucas' Due date. He is exactly 40 weeks.

WE check in, go to our giant room, YEAH! and the fun begins. I am checked, and tested for amniotic fluid leak ( my " bag of waters") The test actually came back negative... so they did an ultrasound and there was very little fluid in there.. so... since I am term, and my water appears to have leaked out... I AM STAYING.

( side note: I went to the bathroom after this whole fun check thing and water exploded at my feet.... GLORIOUS.. baby Lucas wanted a crowd)

OK so we are DOING THIS...

1. IV was started ( blood everywhere, because at this point you could hit my veins with a dart across the room)

2. Antibiotics given

3. Evil Pitocin started ( goal: to have contractions 2 min apart to help ripen the cervix to change from the 1 cm it was at to 10 cm. OUCH) remembering, i have not had contractions YET...... AT ALL

It is now 3:00am and I have 8,000 knives slicing into my back at 2 ish minute intervals and no matter what position I put myself in, no matter what planet I mentally travel to, and no matter what breathing pattern I attempt, the evil axe murdering Pitocin is slicing my back in millions of pieces.

I want to go natural, bite on a leather strap and go with it.. but I see the future ahead of me.. and knowing that this is not a short process.. I do not see myself even having the energy to push when it came time, I would be tooooo exhausted. SO, I started with Nubian. a medication that feels like someone slapped you in the face with 8 glasses of wine, not a bad feeling, but silly when you go from normal to drunk in front of your family...

Anyway, at this point it was 6:00am and Epidural was offered to me multiple times, and I cracked, gave in, melted and said, "I guess I will have an epidural.. no rush.. when the chance is available". by 7:00am the epidural was in.. and my legs weighed a ton!!! and life was GREAT!!!

( this is the time where the camera speeds through time and people move in and out... changes made in my body and BAM... its 2:45 pm)

I am going through transition stage, where my body is shaking ... Francois is at the head of the bed talking me through the contractions, Tracy is rubbing my back and trying to calm my shaking... time goes on and it is time to push... The strangest thing is pushing against a numb surface.... it totaled 45 minutes of pushing and at 3:54... Lucas filled his lungs with air and let out his first roar. Our Son!